Daily routine for players?

[Zag365]

I've always wondered, as each season starts, what the "typical" daily routine is for our men's and women's basketball players as they go through the week. I assume they are carrying at least 12 credits per semester, right? Do they practice every day? How much time do they practice - supervised or not (I'm sure there is variation, but what's typical)? When there are home games, how much ahead of time do they show up? When there are away games, how does that alter the week because of travel -- do they leave a day before? two days before?

[BobZag]

The Zags get up every morning
From their alarm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There's a whistle up above
And people pushin', people shovin'
And the girls who try to look pretty

And if their train's on time
They can get to the MAC by nine.

[Zag365]

The Zags get up every morning
From their alarm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There's a whistle up above
And people pushin', people shovin'
And the girls who try to look pretty

And if their train's on time
They can get to the MAC by nine.

and they are takin' care of business -- every day!

[ZagNative]

I was thinking there was a story out of Bainbridge when Steven Gray was a freshman about the basketball regimen at GU. I don't know whether or not to post it again, for fear of scaring away prospects we're recruiting, but what the hey! Here's the link to the post about the interview.

The BHS grad and former Spartan basketball star, once a big fish in a small pond, is now simply a goldfish in the vast ocean that is Division I basketball.

And he’s quickly learning how much work goes into competing at the top level in college.

“In playing the games, it hasn’t been too bad,” he said. “But everything else is just ridiculous.

“I thought last year’s two hour practices were tough, but here we have three hour practices every day,” he continued. “It just takes up so much of your time. That was a big surprise to me.”

[Zag365]

Thanks ZN. The reason I ask is that I have a lot of respect for the true student-athlete in a D-1 program like Gonzaga's where you not only are expected to handle your own in the classroom but also compete at a T25 level in your sport as well as travel to all ends of the country (even if it is now in a chartered jet). My guess is the players are heavily "scheduled" more than many people appreciate. I was hoping that someone who is around the team on a regular basis could provide some data.

[LynetteG]

I can't speak to the GU players, but I can tell you that my neph has very long days, most times not ending until 10p, with classes, weight training, cardio, practice, homework, etc. Student-athletes work extremely hard.

[ZagNative]

I can't speak to the GU players, but I can tell you that my neph has very long days, most times not ending until 10p, with classes, weight training, cardio, practice, homework, etc. Student-athletes work extremely hard.

According to Gonzaga's website, they are committed to providing outstanding academic support to their student athletes. Further, according to the NCAA website's Model practices site,

After assessing the academic situation, Gonzaga University found the academic stability of the population rather outstanding.To improve the already great academic success program, the university instituted an at-risk CUM grade-point average cutoff of 2.50.Any student that does not hold a CUM GPA of 2.50, Athletic Probation, meets weekly with either the academic coordinator or a graduate student in the athletics office.

I wonder if that's why Alex Hernandez was hired... I recall him describing his job as sort of a shepherd of the flock. Must be a bit like this, with that bunch, considering their youth and the demands on their time ...



What would drive me craziest, were I one of Gonzaga's men's basketball athletes today, would be what seems to be an almost complete lack of privacy. Somebody seems to be in their pockets all the time, ready to admire, for sure, but equally quick to criticize and judge - from appearance to attitude, 24-7, ready to report any breach in someone's personal standard for acceptable behavior, from being seen out late partying to texting in class to being spotted in the produce department at Safeway buying an under-ripe canteloupe! ..

[Zag365]

I can't speak to the GU players, but I can tell you that my neph has very long days, most times not ending until 10p, with classes, weight training, cardio, practice, homework, etc. Student-athletes work extremely hard.

Thanks, Lynette. This underscores how much stress I assumed was involved for today's student-athletes. Makes me wonder how a lot of us would do if expected to adhere to similar routine in our "jobs," only to have a boatload of folks commenting daily on our performance on this Board.

b/t/w in case you didn't see it, nice story on Jordan's (and my) alma mater, UD High in this week's edition of Time magazine

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1933203,00.html

[dim4sum]

Old phogy observation

I realize it's hard keeping up when practices are three hours a day, but at one time I ran track for a PAC-10 school, carried sixteen units a semester and worked 40 hours a week on a swing shift ( 4 to 11). I may have been too young and naive to complain. Maybe I was too fatalistic. Nowadays, egos are too easily bruised, I think. They want the gain without the pain.